Beet -habyesteb



S. TATR BEST HRYESTER 1 sheets-sheet;

Filed Dec. 1l,v 1925 31a-vani oi" l lPatented Dec. 22, 1925.

`'STANLEY TArrAmoF DETnoiT; zivile/nrcan. v

,BERT HARVESTER- Application led December 11; Vy1923. Serial' No:y 679;'963;

T0 all whom t may concern: QBe it knownthat' I, STANLEY ulf Improvement vin a Beet 'Harvester, of which ythe following AisV a specification.

My 'invention relates Lto a new L and useful improvement in a beet harvestei` and has forits object the-provision in a beetharvest erofwmeans for digging rthe .beets and conveying 'themr'to aE topping device in which the tops ofthek beets are removed and= the beetsconv'eyed to a hopper.

i "Another object of tliein-vention 'is the pro- 'vision in a beet harvester of a conveyorfor 'conveying beets to a 'cutting device ina vsubstantially upright position. f

*Another ob'ect of-*the inventionistheprovision in a'beet harvester offmeans "orhold- 'ing the beat in anv uprightposition during "the time Lthe top'is being removed by the cutting ele/ment. I

VAnother object oftheinvention istthefprovvision in atbeet har-vesterofa fan forcarryingY or ,driving away thegtops of the: beets when `the same are cut/olif"and-me'ansffor f driving Athe fan.

'Otherobjects will appearhereinafter.

The invention consists in `the `combination and arrangement of. parts hereinafter described and claimed.

The rinvention will be best understood by vreference to lthe accompanying drawings which forma part of this -speciiicat-ioniand in which,

lFig. 1 is a side elevational viewoftheinvention,

FigrQ is a topplan View ofthe-invention,

l'-Fig. 3 is a'view'taken onsubstantiallyline 3-3 of Fig., 8,

Figa is av sectional view taken on ksubstantiallyline lf-4c of-Fig'. 2,

j Figf5`is a' fragmentary-side elevational view with parts insection illustrating opera- 'tion of the conveyorin depositing the beets i 4intopping position,

Fig. 6 is a sectional vievvltaken Aon Sub- 'stantially line 6-6 offFig. 5,

rFig. 7 is aside elevational view of v.the hopper used 1n the invention,

vrFig. S is an elevational viewwi thf parts y'in section illustrating fthe' gearing zus-ed in the invention,

*Fig.-9*-is a sectional viewtaken on-sub- "Fig l, the surface of theplowi 11j extends stantially liner 9*-9 of Fig. 2, and,

TATAn,- aV citizen ofi therUnited States, residing' at Detroit, inthe county of/V'ayne and* State of Michigan, have invented new-l and use? jFig lO is-a 'sectional view?,taken1onSub-t In the presentinventionthefbeetsi are'removed. ifromfthe Y ground by the f digging element L'which is termed ra plow Y "and vifrom' this element conveyed byv a suitable conveyor inl substantially i upright` position, 'tolif a :housing whiohlcontainsl abutting-element iT-he' beets 'inl 1 passing? fromv thei' conveyort tot the cutting position AGare ji'dr'ojppedlb intolholding elementsv until a lsucceeding beet falls from the-conveyor driving fthe previous? beets` down to# an# auxiliary :conveyor Whichal carries dt to alhopp'er for i containingv thei beets.l

dln fthe l preferred fo'rinof J.; construction,

mounted 'on-- the l.forward end bf 'beams i12 'and 12" which Iare# liXedlyimo`1'1ntedtov `the framework of the vehicle Ioniwh-ich thehousextending portion ,'13 from-'whichi a. portion f extends' downwardlyito connect'with 'anther hor'iizonta'lly extending portion l 14, thus yforming 'asubstantiallyla a L F U-shaped i portion at the iend o-the Pattachmentxto; the* vframe @work andhousing. ttaclied tothe meni- -bers llt are be'amsQOwhichare .spaced apart suiliciently 'towcarry'f between theQsameY an endless conveyorl19+wliich engages at the `Vlower-end with aA roller 18 :mounted on: a

'shaftz 17 ,iprojected throughthe. side. y members lof 4-the'l-rame formed byI the beams.

Rotatably-Inounted between thebeamsQO are rollers Q21, saidl-'rollersi being mounted on '-lsh'afts whicharev'journaled in L-the beams 20, suitable ball bearings being provided to kre- Y duce friction y@Similar vrollers .22 vare mount- `eddbetween the beamsl2. and1l2 each vof y these rollers engaging the conveyor` 19 as it travels. along. j 41V-MountedV on veyor. are pro-ngs123, which are-adapted to engager and. retainin; position fthe beets? as fthesamel are-*deposited thereon by the plow 1l. "'Mounted'on the-beams12 and 12", at op- .posite sides'of -the `conveyor and sufcien'tly spaced apart tofallow' the passage of a' beet between, are'side boards 24: and'25which-.ex-

the outer :surace of the: contendfy well over thehousing 26. i.As shownzin y f' 1,565,7:180A

en :is-,EVM tossica passage of the prongs 23 therethrough. The

beets, when being forced out ofthe gro-und 'by the plow 11, are forced rearwardly thereof as the plow travels through the ground, thus bringing the beets to the slot 11, Here the prongs 23vengage the same and serve to yio .carry it off. on to the conveyor and off of the Vplow 1l. In this way much ofthe dirt adhering to the beets is jarred loose and permitted to fall free of the conveyor through the slot 1-1.` vThe upper end of the conveyor 19, as shownkin Fig. 5, engages a roller 27, which is mounted upon a shaft 27. The beets7 as carried up on the conveyor 19, are permitted to drop into the position shown in lFig. and to engage between a pair of semi-V circular retaining members 28 and 28. The member `28 is mounted upon a shaft 30 which projectsY through the wall 31 of the housing 26. This rod is adaptedk for slidable movement and a spring 30.` positioned thereon -enmovementof the member 28 away from the gagesa stationary collar which is spaced from a wall i 31. This spring resists the member 28. The member 28 is similarly mounted on a rod 29 provided with a similarly operating spring 29. As the beets drop between the members 28 and 28', they are heldin an uprightposition and while in this upright position the tops are removed by a cutter 59 to be explained hereinafter.

- After thecutting operation, the succeeding beet falling from the conveyor 19 drives the beet positioned between the members 28 and 28 downwardly through the same'on'tova conveyor-33 which engages a roller 32. This yconveyor serves to convey4 the beet to the hopper 34, which is mounted upon suitable wheels'35 Vand pivotally attached, as at 37, to a spring 36 of the framework which lsuports the housingv 26 on the wheels 38.

ounted upon the Vwheels 38 are housings 39 and 39-`containing suitable gearing forrotating the shafts 40 and 40" in unison with the wheels 38. Mounted upon the shafts 40 and 40 respectivelyv are gear wheels 41 and -41 which mesh with respective gear wheels 42 and 42', suitably journaled in the casing 43. Mounted on the same shaft as the gears 42 and 42"- are bevel gears44 and 44 which mesh with-a bevel gear 45vloosely Ymounted upon a shaft 49 provided with a clutch head 46 adapted to' engage with a cooperating Aclutch head 47 which is ixedly mounted upon the shaft 49, operable by a pivotally mounted. lever 48. Upon operation of the clutch 48, the shaft 49 is caused to rotate with the wheels or to remain Vstationary while the wheels 38 are rotating, depending upon' whether or not the clutch is in operative or inoperative posit-ion. The shaft 49. extends through va support, or standard,-y 50 which is attached to the lower portion of the v an elongated arm 59 having the edge thereof sharpened to provide a cutting element for removing the tops ofthe beet as the same are brought into a proper position for cutting. Mounted upon the shaft 49 and adapted to rotate therewith, above the cutting element, is a fan 53.

Projecting' downwardly from the housing 26, at one side thereof, is a supportingarm 54, in which is journaled ai suitable shaft, having roller 32 mounted thereon. An eX- tension of the shafton which the roller 32iisy mounted affords a suitable pulley for a belt v 56 which passes around the pulley, adapted to rotate with a wheel 38@ The construction is such that a rotation ofthe wheels 38 will bring about a traveling of the conveyor 33. ln operation, the device is pushed by a suitable power means, suchv as a tractor, and the plow 11, digging into the ground, raises the beets therefrom, causing them to *pass on to the conveyor 19, as already described. Asy

the beets drop into the holding members 28 and 28', the knife 59 serves to top` the beets, cutting off a portion of the body of the beet, as it is desirable to have more than the green tops of the beet removed. rllhe succeeding beet, falling upon the retainer will drive the topped beet on to the conveyor 33 so that a continuous operation is provided;

While I'have illustrated anddescribed the preferred form o-f structure, l do not wish to limit myself to the precise form of structure shown but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims. y

Having thus describedfmy invention what Il claim as new and desire to securey by Letters Patent is: v

1. In a beet harvester, a housing; a pair of substantially semi-circular permanently horizontally aligned Vrelatively movable retaining membersadap ted for the reception of a beet between them; resilient means for norin closely approached position and permitting the relative withdrawal of the same against the tension of said resilient means; and a rotatable cutting member adapted for passage across the axis of the circle defined by said members for topping a-beetretained by said members.

2. In a beet harvester, a housing; a pair of substantially semi-circular permanently horizontally aligned relatively movable retaining members, adapted for the reception of a beet between them; resilient means for normally maintaining said retaining members in closely approached position and permitting the relative Withdrawal of the same against the tension of said resilient means; a rotatable cutting member adapted for passage across the axis ofthe circle defined by said members for topping a beet retained by said members; and 'a fan for moving said 10 tops after the topping operation from engagement with said retainingmembers.

In testimony whereof I--have signed the foregoing speoilication at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan.

y VSTANLEY TATAR. 

